Kiwi-Lemon-Galangal Ice Pops

Ingredients:
4 cups peeled, halved kiwi
juice and zest of 1 (large) lemon
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh or ground galangal root or ginger

Directions:
Place all ingredients in a blender and pulse until smooth and well combined. Pour into ice pop molds. Freeze until solid.

Yield: about 12 ice pops, depending on the size of your molds

My thoughts:

I sometimes hesitate about posting such simple recipes but the combination was so surprisingly good, I didn't want to keep it to myself. Ice pops are great for using up fruit, I recently had a ton of kiwi on my hands, enough that I made jam and a pie and these ice pops and still had some leftover. That is a lot of kiwi! Kiwi has a high water content so you don't need to add any juice (I just added the lemon juice for flavor) or water or anything to make it the right consistency for a superior ice pop. The lemon added just a bit of tartness to my very sweet kiwi and the galangal added a background note of spice that kept it from being just another boring ice pop.

How to: Chicken Stock

Ingredients:

the basics:
cold water
1 chicken carcass, meat removed
6 carrots, cut up
3 onions, quartered
2 parsnips, cut up
1 bunch celery or just celery tops
2 heads garlic
optional: 1 bunch green onions or scallions


Directions:
Place the chicken and the vegetables in a large (8-10 quart) stock pot. Add water until the pot is nearly filled.

Periodically skim off fat as it floats to the top. After about 3 1/2 hours, strain into a large bowl. If you want it super clear strain through a paper towel lined colander. Cool immediately by placing the bowl in an ice filled sink. Never place the hot stock directly in the fridge or you run the risk of rapid bacteria growth which may result in food poisoning. Refrigerate overnight, then skim off any fat that rose to the surface. Package in air tight containers or freezer bags to store.



I suggest freezing any stock you don't use right away. In if freezer bags, lay the bags flat so they freeze in a shape that takes up the least amount of room. To defrost simply remove the block of stock from the container and place it in a sauce pan. Heat on low for 3-5 minutes.

Variations:
Add ginger and/or galangal and extra garlic and green onions to the mixture if using it in a Thai, Japanese or Chinese dish for extra flavor. Alternately, add these ingredients into the pot when defrosting plain chicken stock, simmer for 5 additional minutes then strain them out. Similarly, if making Mexican or other spicy food, add dried chile peppers, extra garlic and/or onions to the stock or when defrosting.

Add some whole spices or herbs (bay leaf, peppercorns, thyme, rosemary etc) to the mixture.

Roast the chicken carcass in a 350 oven for 15-30 minutes before tossing it in the pot. This helps intensify the flavor.

Add some whole, skin-on raw chicken legs or wings for extra flavor.


Makes about 5-6 quarts of stock.

My thoughts:

Stock is so basic, I almost feel odd posting a recipe for it but I use it so much when cooking and I've received numerous requests for a guide on making it, I gave in. It truly is simple but delicious. Much better tasting then what you can buy in the store. It is also much cheaper. A box of our favorite store-bought stock is nearly $4. The chicken I used was $6 (on sale) yielded more than two meals worth of meat and over 6 quarts of stock. You really can't beat that!

One last tip:
Save odds and ends of vegetables (a carrot top, celery leaves, bruised green onions etc) in a container in your fridge or freezer to add to the pot when you make stock. The whole vegetables add a lot of flavor but every bit helps!

Shrimp & Scallop Noodle Bowl

Ingredients:
for the sauce:
1 1/4 cup shrimp stock
2 inch knob ginger, sliced
2 inch knob galangal, sliced
1 stalk lemongrass, sliced
1 teaspoon palm sugar dissolved in 1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon cornstarch

for the stir fry:
3/4 lb shrimp
3/4 lb scallop
6 oz fresh shiitake mushrooms
2 carrots, in matchsticks
2 head Shanghai cabbage, sliced in 1/4 inch wide pieces horizontally
1b fresh egg noodles, boiled 1 minute then drained
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons canola oil



Directions:
Bring the shrimp stock, ginger, galangal, and lemongrass to a boil. Boil until it is reduced to 1 cup. Strain out the solids. Stir in soy sauce and palm sugar then whisk in the cornstarch. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok. Quickly stir fry the garlic then add the carrot, mushrooms and cabbage. Stir fry until the cabbage is just starting to wilt. Push the vegetables to one side of the wok, then add the seafood into the empty space. Stir fry until the shrimp and scallops are almost completely cooked through. Add the noodles and sauce. Stir fry until the noodles are soft and the sauce is mostly absorbed. Serve hot.

Yield: 2-4 servings.

My thoughts:

This was one of the tastiest noodle dishes I've made in a while. The noodles absorb all of the delicious broth and accent rather than obscure the natural brininess of the shrimp and scallops. It is also an exceptionally quick yet impressive looking dish to make, especially if you have a basic shrimp stock* on hand. I like to make stock whenever we have shrimp and then freeze it. You don't even have to defrost it ahead of time, it defrosts very quickly over medium heat in a saucepan. I then flavor it to accent the rest of the ingredients of whatever I am making. In this case, I was using Asian ingredients so I used Thai-influenced add-ins. It really elevates the dish into something special.


*Basically just water, raw shrimp shells, shrimp heads if possible, lemon peel, onions, parsley etc boiled until it reduces and then skimmed of solids.

Thai Cooler

Ingredients:

for the syrup:
1 1/2 inch knob galangal cut into small chunks
1 handful fresh mint
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
zest of one lime

to serve:
club soda
limes


Directions:
Place the sugar, galangal, mint, water and zest in a heavy sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Continue to boil until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture thickens to a light syrup. Keep an eye on it as it can quickly go from "syrup" to "sticky candy" in just a few minutes. Strain into a heat safe container. Discard solids. Allow to cool. Spoon 2 tablespoons of syrup into each glass. Top with the juice of one lime and stir to combine. Top with club soda. Repeat for each glass.




Note: Any leftover syrup should be poured into a jar and refrigerated for future use. It can keep up to 2 weeks.



Yield: 6-8 drinks.

My thoughts:

It has been a busy weekend! So busy I haven't done much cooking or eating. I did make time to create this refreshing drink and it was well worth the little bit of extra effort. It is a wonderful treat on a hot day. If you cannot find galangal root, you can subsitute fresh ginger. Galangal root also a rhizome and has a flavor similar to ginger. However, galangal has a more complex flavor which containes some citrus notes. If you wanted to be naughty, I think this would be great spiked with some white rum as a sort of Thai mojito.